Barely 5,648 government-funded vacant houses have been allotted to migrant workers under the Affordable Rental Housing Complex (ARHC) scheme, almost four-and-a-half years after it was launched during the Covid-19 pandemic. This number represents less than 7 per cent of the 83,534 houses initially identified for the scheme when it was approved by the Cabinet.

In a written response to a question in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, junior housing and urban affairs minister Tokhan Sahu informed the Upper House that five states and Union Territories (Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, and Chandigarh) out of 13 with vacant government-funded houses have so far converted them into ARHC units.

With the exception of Chandigarh and Jammu & Kashmir, none of the five states have converted and allotted all their vacant houses for rental to migrant workers. Among the states that have not converted a single vacant house, Maharashtra has the highest number, with 32,345 flats, followed by Delhi with 29,112, and Uttar Pradesh with 5,232. The ARHC scheme was launched in July 2020 as part of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) to provide dignified living for urban migrants and the poor near their workplaces.

The scheme has two models: the first involves utilising government-funded vacant houses constructed under various schemes, converting them into ARHCs through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) or by public agencies. The second model focuses on the construction, operation, and maintenance of ARHCs by public or private entities on their own available vacant land. The ministry informed the Rajya Sabha that, so far, 82,273 ARHC units have been sanctioned, and 35,425 units have been completed, all of which are in Tamil Nadu.